Help & FAQ
Short answers to the questions we hear most. Not covered? Write to us — a human reads every mail.
Where are my documents stored?
On your iPhone, and nowhere else. Foliark has no servers and no cloud. Scans, recognized text, the search index, and your settings never leave the device unless you explicitly share or back them up.
Do I need an account?
No. Foliark has no accounts, no sign-in, and no e-mail registration — you install it and start scanning.
Is OCR really free and unlimited?
Yes. Text recognition runs on your device using on-device machine learning, so it costs us nothing per page — and therefore costs you nothing. No page limits, no watermarks, no ads.
How does the Smart Vault auto-filing work?
After each scan, Foliark reads the recognized text on-device and scores it against your topics. Confident documents are filed automatically; anything uncertain lands in the visible “To review” inbox for a one-tap decision. Renaming or deleting a topic only re-groups the view — it never moves or deletes files.
How do I sign or fill in a document?
Open any document — or a fresh scan — and tap Sign & Fill. Add your signature, initials, text, a date, or a checkmark, then drag, resize, or rotate each one. Tap Apply and it is flattened into the PDF, visible in any app. Signing is free; there is no Pro gate on it.
Can I reuse my signature?
Yes. Signatures and initials you create are saved on your device and offered on every document. Keep several, and optionally lock them behind Face ID or Touch ID.
Can I type my signature instead of drawing it?
Yes — draw it with your finger or an Apple Pencil, or type your name in a handwriting font.
Can I black out or white out something before sharing?
Yes. The marker has an opaque black and an opaque white ink — white is useful for clearing a spot on a form. With “Remove text under opaque marker” switched on (the default), the covered words are also deleted from the search index and from the shared PDF, so they can no longer be found or copied out. Be aware of what the bar is, though: it is paint on the page. The original scan stays on your device, so re-editing that page can uncover what was underneath. Foliark does not yet destroy the original pixels, and we would rather tell you that than let the black bar imply otherwise.
Is a signature made in Foliark legally valid?
It is a simple electronic signature. For everyday agreements that require no particular form, that is generally valid and accepted. It is not a qualified electronic signature and not equivalent to a handwritten one — some documents, such as employment terminations, guarantees, wills, or notarised and property documents in Germany and Switzerland, legally require written form or a qualified signature, which Foliark does not provide. This is not legal advice; if in doubt, check which form your document requires.
Can I send a document to someone else to sign?
Not from Foliark — that would need a cloud account and a server, which is exactly what Foliark is built without. You sign your own documents on your own device. If someone else has to sign, share the document and let them sign it in their own app, or hand them your unlocked iPhone.
What does Pro include, and what does it cost?
Pro is a single one-time purchase (no subscription): combine scans into one PDF, AES-256 password protection, PDF compression, .txt export of recognized text, and batch actions. Everything else — scanning, OCR, search, Smart Vault, backup, app lock — stays free.
I bought Pro and reinstalled / got a new iPhone. How do I get it back?
Open Settings → Restore Purchase while signed in with the same Apple ID you bought Pro with. The unlock is restored at no cost.
How do I move everything to a new iPhone?
Create an encrypted backup (Vault → Backup & Restore), move the single backup file to the new device any way you like (Files, AirDrop, an external drive), install Foliark, and restore. The backup is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a password only you know — without it, the file is unreadable, including to us.
Which languages can Foliark read?
Text recognition covers Latin-script languages — including English, German (with umlauts), Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. The app interface is available in all six.
Can I password-protect a PDF before sharing it?
Yes, with Pro: exported PDFs can be protected with an AES-256 password, directly on the device.
Something doesn’t work. How do I reach you?
E-mail foliark@bfg-works.com — ideally with your iOS version and the app version shown at the bottom of Settings. We usually reply within a couple of working days.